{"id":290351,"date":"2018-09-05T06:47:05","date_gmt":"2018-09-05T10:47:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/?p=290351"},"modified":"2018-09-05T12:12:31","modified_gmt":"2018-09-05T16:12:31","slug":"what-defrock-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2018\/09\/what-defrock-3\/","title":{"rendered":"What defrock?!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This subject is coming up again now, as the Church wrestles with how to deal with the burgeoning sex abuse crisis. One common call: defrock priests who break their vows!<\/p>\n

A few years ago, I looked at this issue on this blog and noted that, technically, the Church doesn\u2019t \u201cdefrock\u201d\u2014and reminded readers that a priest is a priest forever, even if he is returned to the lay state.<\/p>\n

Snip:\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

As\u00a0one canon lawyer noted a few years ago<\/a>,<\/strong>\u00a0the term \u201cdefrock\u201d appears nowhere in canon law. \u00a0Usually, when someone talks about \u201cdefrocking,\u201d they\u2019re referring to laicization, which is a more complicated canonical procedure. \u00a0(As you\u2019ll note below, that\u00a0still means that a priest is a priest\u2014Holy Orders cannot be removed\u2014 but he can no longer act as one.) \u00a0However, in the case of the Polish monsignor, that\u2019s not entirely accurate, either. Press reports indicate he was \u201csuspended,\u201d which suggests the punishment is not permanent and can be lifted.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how all this is described in\u00a0canon law:\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

The proper canonical term for such a punishment is \u201cdismissal from the clerical state.<\/i>\u201d It is also referred to as\u201claicization\u201d<\/i>\u00a0or\u00a0\u201cforced laicization\u201d<\/i>. These terms mean that a priest is forbidden from exercising his priesthood for the rest of his life.<\/p>\n

1338 \u00a72. Privation of the power of orders is not possible but only a prohibition against exercising it or some of its acts; likewise, privation of academic degrees is not possible.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

While forbidden to exercise his priesthood for the rest of life, it should be remembered that a priest is a priest for life. Such is found in Canon Law.<\/p>\n

Can. 290 \u201cOnce validly received, sacred ordination never becomes invalid. A cleric, nevertheless, loses the clerical state.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Check out the rest.\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This subject is coming up again now, as the Church wrestles with how to deal with the burgeoning sex abuse crisis. One common call: defrock priests who break their vows! A few years ago, I looked at this issue on this blog and noted that, technically, the Church doesn\u2019t \u201cdefrock\u201d\u2014and reminded readers that a priest […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":290354,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[11194],"class_list":["post-290351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-priests","tag-priests"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat defrock?!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This subject is coming up again now, as the Church wrestles with how to deal with the burgeoning sex abuse crisis. 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